Protective Cultures Applied in Meat Products: Technological Functions, Safety Aspects and Current Advances: A Review

Protective cultures are an increasingly industrially relevant biopreservation tool for meat and meat products, responding to simultaneous demands for microbiological safety, extended shelf life, and reduced reliance on synthetic preservatives within clean-label frameworks. This review summarizes current advances in protective cultures applied to meat systems, with emphasis on technological functions, efficacy boundaries, and safety-related due diligence. We discuss the dominant inhibitory mechanisms of lactic acid bacteria and related protective taxa—acidification, competitive exclusion, and antimicrobial metabolites (including bacteriocins)—and highlight why performance is strongly strain- and matrix-dependent under realistic storage conditions. Practical applications are reviewed across raw meats (spoilage delay under refrigeration and vacuum/MAP) and processed or ready-to-eat products, where post-processing surface application emerges as a critical control point for limiting Listeria monocytogenes outgrowth during chilled storage. Key implementation constraints include technological compatibility and sensory neutrality, which are influenced by product buffering capacity, salt content, available fermentable substrates, packaging atmosphere, and temperature. From a safety perspective, we synthesize evidence on antimicrobial resistance in food-associated cultures and outline contemporary qualification strategies combining phenotypic susceptibility testing with genome-based screening to exclude acquired and potentially transferable resistance determinants. Overall, protective cultures should be viewed as a targeted hurdle integrated into holistic preservation systems rather than a standalone substitute for hygiene and process control.